


Grandson

by waterbird13



Series: Tumblr Fics [157]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bonding, Books, Gen, Regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 16:44:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7941718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterbird13/pseuds/waterbird13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, Henry wishes things could have worked out different, so he could have been there for Sam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grandson

**Author's Note:**

> This is another piece from Tumblr.
> 
> Really, there aren't any warnings.

Not for the first time, Henry wishes Sam’s life turned out different.

Not that there’s anything wrong with his grandson, (his grandson, who’s his age, and that doesn’t bare thinking about, mostly he tries to just think of them as friends now). No, Sam’s a great person. A good hunter, a good brother, a good partner. He’s good at what he does and what he is and maybe Henry is selfish to want to change that.

But if anyone was meant to be a Men of Letters, it’s Sam. He lights up in the Library, spends his free-time re-cataloguing the numerous volumes, reading through them, diving into the depths of knowledge. Henry knows Sam’s taught himself to read two new languages since they’ve gotten here, just so he can keep reading.

Henry never made it to the Bunker. He might never have, truth be told; he had a family, a son, a life, something he couldn’t give up, even for a stack of the most tempting books he’s ever seen. But now he’s here.

With Sam.

“Mind if I join you?” he asks, waiting for Sam to look up before grabbing a book from the pile and sliding into the chair next to him.

Sam smiles. “Have you seen…you probably know all about what’s here,” he says. “But _look_  at all this knowledge. It’s amazing.”

“I don’t know what’s here,” Henry admits freely. “Your cataloguing means you probably know more than anyone left alive.” He pauses for a moment. “But I would love to find out.”

Sam’s grin grows even wider. “Of course!” he says enthusiastically. “Here, look, just _look_  at this, there’s information on _everything_  here, more than a dozen languages, some of these things are older than should even be possible, even Bobby didn’t have–”

He keeps talking and Henry smiles back, looking at the catalogue Sam’s compiling. Sam’s done a lot of work, and they’ve only been here a few weeks. Certain titles jump out at him, things he’s only heard about, legends, rumors, things he itches to get his fingers on.

“You know,” Sam interrupts both himself and Henry’s train of thought, “I’ve never had…Bobby loved books, but research was a means to an end for him, you know? Getting the job done. And college was…some people loved learning, but it felt…not like this. You’re the first who really got this, you know?”

Henry smiles, and thinks about if things had been different. If he hadn’t disappeared that day, if he’d raised his son. He’d have been able to help, he’d have known enough to help. None of the bad things would have happened. He’d have gotten to help raise his grandchildren. He’d be older now, of course, white-haired, probably a bit stooped. Glasses, probably, gnarled hands flipping through pages. But he would have been the one to show Sam this, when he was just a little boy. He’d have brought him all the books he’d wanted, read them with him, teach him.

He’d have been there to share this with Sam from the beginning, never leaving Sam alone in his fascination. But that wasn’t something he could have. He’d missed too much, even if it hadn’t been on purpose.

Still. He could start now. He _would_  start now, because here was Sam, someone who he was always meant to share this fascination with.


End file.
